Australia at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Australia was the host nation for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Australian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. 628 competitors, 341 men and 276 women, took part in 270 events in 34 sports. Australia won its first Olympic gold medal in the sport of archery in Sydney. Simon Fairweather defeated all six archers he faced, including a comfortable seven-point victory in the final. Men Women KeyNote–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only Q = Qualified for the next round q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target NR = National record N/A = Round not applicable for the event Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round Men Track and road eventsField eventsCombined events – DecathlonWomen Track and road events Field eventsCombined events – Heptathlon MenWomenMixed The Australians' second appearance in the Olympic baseball tournament resulted in the team moving up one place in the rankings, from seventh to sixth.
They defeated Korea and South Africa but lost to the five other teams in competition to finish outside the top four and find themselves eliminated after the preliminaries. Preliminary Round Robin Lost to Netherlands Defeated Korea Lost to Japan Defeated South Africa Lost to Cuba Lost to Italy Lost to United States → did not advance Team Roster Craig Anderson Grant Balfour Tom Becker Shayne Bennett Mathew Buckley Adam Burton Clayton Byrne Mark Ettles Paul Gonzalez Mark Hutton Ronny Johnson Grant McDonald Adrian Meagher Michael Moyle Michael Nakamura David Nilsson Glenn Reeves Brett Roneberg Chris Snelling Brad Thomas Rodney van Buizen David White Gary White Glenn Williams Head Coach: Jon Deeble Preliminary Round Lost to Canada Lost to Yugoslavia Defeated Russia Defeated Angola Defeated Spain Quarterfinals Defeated Italy Semi-finals Lost to France Bronze Medal Match Lost to Lithuania Team Roster Andrew Gaze Chris Anstey Mark Bradtke Martin Cattalini Ricky Grace Shane Heal Luc Longley Sam Mackinnon Brett Maher Paul Rogers Jason Smith Andrew Vlahov Head Coach: Barry Barnes Preliminary Round Defeated Canada Defeated Brazil Defeated Slovakia Defeated Senegal Defeated France Quarterfinals Defeated Poland Semi-finals Defeated Brazil Final Lost to United States → Silver Medal Team Roster Sandy Brondello Michelle Brogan Carla Boyd Jo Hill Kristi Harrower Shelly Sandle Annie la Fleur Trisha Fallon Lauren Jackson Rachael Sporn Michele Timms Jenny Whittle Head Coach: Tom Maher Men MenWomen MenWomen PursuitSprintTime trialPoints raceKeirin Australia entered divers in all of the events, won two bronze medals.
MenWomen Seven fencers, five men and two women, represented Australia in 2000. MenWomen Coach: Raul Blanco *Over-aged player Preliminary Round Lost to Germany Tied with Sweden Lost to Brazil Quarter Finals Did not qualify Team Roster Dianne Alagich Sharon Black Bryony Duus Alicia Ferguson Alison Forman Heather Garriock Kelly Golebiowski Peita-Claire Hepperlin Sunni Hughes Kate McShea Julie Murray Cheryl Salisbury Bridgette Starr Anissa Tann Leanne Trimboli Sacha Wainwright Tracey Wheeler Amy Wilson Head Coach: Chris Tanzey TeamIndividual events Preliminary Round Lost to Sweden Lost to Spain Lost to Slovenia Lost to Tunisia Lost to France Quarterfinal Did not qualify Classification Match 11th/12th place: Lost to Cuba → 12th and last place Team Roster Peter Bach Christian Bajan Vernon Cheung Russell Garnett David Gonzalez Kristian Groenintwoud Darryl McCormack Rajan Pavlovic Taip Ramadani Brendon Taylor Lee Schofield Dragan Sestic Sasa Sestic Milan Slavujevic Karim Shehab Head Coach: Zoltán Marczinka Preliminary Round Lost to Brazil Lost to Norway Lost to Denmark Lost to Austria Quarterfinal Did not qualify Classification Match 9th/10th place: Lost to Angola → 10th and last place Team Roster Janni Bach Petra Besta Rina Bjarnason Raelene Boulton Kim Briggs Mari Edland Sarah Hammond Fiona Hannan Vera Ignjatovic Jana Jamnicky Lydia Kahmke Marina Kopcalic Jovana Milosevic Shelley Ormes Katrina Shinfield Head Coach: Christoph Mecker Preliminary Round Australia — Poland 4-0 Australia — India 2-2 Australia — Spain 2-2 Australia — Argentina 2-1 Australia — South Korea 2-1 Semi Finals Australia — The Netherlands 0-0 Bronze Medal Game Australia — Pakistan 6-3 Team Roster Michael Brennan Adam Commens Stephen Davies Damon Diletti Lachlan Dreher Jason Duff Troy Elder James Elmer Paul Gaudoin Stephen Holt Brent Livermore Daniel Sproule Jay Stacy Craig Victory Matthew Wells Michael York Head Coach: Terry Walsh Preliminary Round Australia — Great Britain 2-1 Australia — Spain 1-1 Australia — Argentina 3-1 Australia — South Korea 3-0 Medal Round Australia — New Zealand 3-0 Australia — The Netherlands 5-0 Australia — China 5-1 Final Australia — Argentina 3-1 Team Roster Kate Allen Alyson Annan Renita Farrell Juliet Haslam Rechelle Hawkes Nikki Hudson Rachel Imison Clover Maitland Claire Mitchell-Taverner Jenny Morris Alison Peek Katrina Powell Lisa Powell Angie Skirving Kate Starre Julie Towers Head Coach: Rick Charlesworth MenWomen Coaches: Anthony Klarica, John Olsen, John Gilman, Scott Arnold, Russel Johnston MenWomen Australia competed in all of the sailing events at the 2000 Olympics.
They won 1 silver and 1 bronze. MenMen's Double Handed Dinghy Tom King and Mark Turnbull Race 1 — 5 Race 2 — 1 Race 3 — 2 Race 4 — Race 5 — 7 Race 6 — 10 Race 7 — 8 Race 8 — 1 Race 9 — 2 Race 10 — Race 11 — 2 Final — 38
2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
The 2000 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony took place on 1 October 2000 in Stadium Australia. The Closing Ceremony attracted 114,714 people, the largest attendance in modern Olympic Games history. IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch declared that the 2000 Olympic games were best Olympic Games ever. ‘Countdown Fanfare’ – Composed by Richard Mills performed by Sydney Symphony Orchestra ‘Games 2000 Fanfare’ – Composed by David Stanhope, performed by Sydney Symphony Orchestra ‘My Island Home ’ – Written by Neil Murray, performed by Christine Anu'Games 2000 Fanfare' – Composed by David Stanhope, performed by Sydney Symphony Orchestra'Olympic Fireworks' – Composed by David Stanhope'Journey of Angels' – Performed by Chong Lim'Affirmation' – Performed by Savage Garden The National Anthem of Greece – Performed by The Millennium Children’s Choir of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia The National Anthem of Australia – Music & Lyrics by Peter Dodds McCormick, performed by Sing 2001 Choir and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Michael Knight, President of the President of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Organizing Committee was awarded the Gold Olympic Order as an expression of gratitude for a perfect organisation.
In addition, The International Olympic Committee has decided to award the Olympic Cup to the people of Sydney for their enthusiastic and unpartisan support of athletes from all countries. The eight athlete members who were elected are: 1) Sergei Bubka 2) Charmaine Crooks 3) Robert Ctvrtlik 4) Manuel Estiarte 5) Susan O'Neill 6) Alexander Popov 7) Jan Železný 8) Roland Baar. Dimitris Avramopoulos, Mayor of Athens and Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, President of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games Committee were entering to the stadium. After that, the priestesses of Olympia, from Greece, were entering to do a traditional rite in preparation for the Olympic flag Handover Ceremony. After the performance, the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Frank Sartor comes with the Olympic flag and handed over to the Avramopoulos by the IOC President, Juan Antonio Samaranch. After the handover ceremony, the traditional rite has come to the end: The priestesses were looking around the flag, they take off the flag, put laurel branches and they carried the flag to Athens, the next olympic host city.
‘Olympic Hymn’ – Composed by Spiros Samara, lyrics by Costas Palamas, performed by Yvonne Kenny ‘Journey of Angels’ – Composed by Chong LimThe flag bearers of the Olympic flag was: 1) Lori Munz 2) Melissa Rippon 3) Anna Mcllwaine 4) Matthew Belcher 5) Neil Dennis 6) Stefan Szscurowski 7) Kerrie Meares 8) Mark Renshaw ‘We'll Be One’ – Performed by Nikki Webster & Sing 2001 Choir ‘Absolutely Everybody ’ – Performed by Vanessa Amorosi ‘Love is in the Air ’ – Performed by John Paul Young ‘Back on the Terra Firma’ – Performed by Phil & Tommy Emmanuel ‘What You Need’ – Performed by INXS with Jon Stevens ‘Working Class Man’ – Performed by Jimmy Barnes ‘Beds Are Burning’ – Performed by Midnight Oil ‘Treaty’ – Performed by Yothu Yindi ‘Dancing Queen’ – Performed by Kylie Minogue Theme from ‘Jaws’ – Composed by John Williams Theme from the TV show, ‘Bananas in Pyjamas’ – Written by Blyton ‘Don’t Call Me Baby’ – Written, Lyrics & Performed by Madison Avenue ‘Finally’ – Performed by Cece Peniston ‘On A Night Like This’ – Performed by Kylie Minogue ‘Down Under’ – Performed by Men At Work with cast ‘Waltzing Matilda’ – Performed by Slim Dusty with cast The'Closing Night Harbour Spectacular' marked the end of the ceremony, with a 25-minute fireworks display over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
It was the largest fireworks display staged in the world at that time, required the work of five different pyrotechnic companies. Soundtrack: Olympic Fireworks - David Stanhope Tannhauser Overture - Richard Wagner Arrivals: Movements I to V - Pee Wee Ferris Symphony Of A Thousand - Gustav Mahler Australia - Seven Network on Channel 7.
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan the Kyrgyz Republic, known as Kirghizia, is a country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country with mountainous terrain, it is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west and southwest, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan's recorded history spans over 2,000 years, encompassing a variety of cultures and empires. Although geographically isolated by its mountainous terrain, which has helped preserve its ancient culture, Kyrgyzstan has been at the crossroads of several great civilizations as part of the Silk Road and other commercial and cultural routes. Though long inhabited by a succession of independent tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan has periodically fallen under foreign domination and attained sovereignty as a nation-state only after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since independence, the sovereign state has been a unitary parliamentary republic, although it continues to endure ethnic conflicts, economic troubles, transitional governments and political conflict.
Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Turkic Council, the Türksoy community and the United Nations. Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country's 6 million people, followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks and Russians. Kyrgyz is related to other Turkic languages, although Russian remains spoken and is an official language, a legacy of a century of Russification; the majority of the population are non-denominational Muslims. In addition to its Turkic origins, Kyrgyz culture bears elements of Persian and Russian influence. "Kyrgyz" is believed to have been derived from the Turkic word for "forty", in reference to the forty clans of Manas, a legendary hero who united forty regional clans against the Uyghurs. Kyrgyz means We are forty. At the time, in the early 9th century AD, the Uyghurs dominated much of Central Asia and parts of Russia and China.
The 40-ray sun on the flag of Kyrgyzstan is a reference to those same forty tribes and the graphical element in the sun's center depicts the wooden crown, called tunduk, of a yurt—a portable dwelling traditionally used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. In terms of naming conventions, the country's official name is "Kyrgyz Republic" whenever it is used in some international arenas and foreign relations. However, in the English-speaking world, the spelling Kyrgyzstan is used while its former name Kirghizia is used as such. According to David C. King, Scythians were early settlers in present-day Kyrgyzstan; the Kyrgyz state reached its greatest expansion after defeating the Uyghur Khaganate in 840 A. D. From the 10th century the Kyrgyz migrated as far as the Tian Shan range and maintained their dominance over this territory for about 200 years. In the twelfth century the Kyrgyz dominion had shrunk to the Altay Range and Sayan Mountains as a result of the Mongol expansion. With the rise of the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century, the Kyrgyz migrated south.
The Kyrgyz peacefully became a part of the Mongol Empire in 1207. The descent of the Kyrgyz from the indigenous Siberian population, on the other hand, is confirmed by recent genetic studies; because of the processes of migration, conquest and assimilation, many of the Kyrgyz peoples who now inhabit Central and Southwest Asia are of mixed origins stemming from fragments of many different tribes, though they now speak related languages. Issyk Kul Lake was a stopover on the Silk Road, a land route for traders and other travelers from the Far East to Europe. Kyrgyz tribes were overrun in the 17th century by the Mongols, in the mid-18th century by the Manchurian Qing Dynasty, in the early 19th century by the Uzbek Khanate of Kokand. In the late nineteenth century, the eastern part of what is today Kyrgyzstan the Issyk-Kul Region, was ceded to the Russian Empire by Qing China through the Treaty of Tarbagatai; the territory known in Russian as "Kirghizia", was formally incorporated into the Empire in 1876.
The Russian takeover was met with numerous revolts, many of the Kyrgyz opted to relocate to the Pamir Mountains and Afghanistan. In addition, the suppression of the 1916 rebellion against Russian rule in Central Asia caused many Kyrgyz to migrate to China. Since many ethnic groups in the region were split between neighboring states at a time when borders were more porous and less regulated, it was common to move back and forth over the mountains, depending on where life was perceived as better. Soviet power was established in the region in 1919, the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast was created within the Russian SFSR. On 5 December 1936, the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic was established as a constituent Union Republic of the Soviet Union. During the 1920s, Kyrgyzstan developed in cultural and social life. Literacy was improved, a standard literary language was introduced by imposing Russian on the populace. Economic and social development was notable. Many aspects of the Ky
Olly, Syd, Millie and Lizzie
Olly and Millie were the official mascots of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, representing air and water. Olly the kookaburra represents the Olympic spirit of generosity. Syd the platypus, represents the environment as well as the activity and energy of Australia and their population. Millie the echidna, knows everything about technology and numerical data; the mascots were designed by Jozef Szekeres. The mascot for the 2000 Paralympics was "Lizzie" the Frill-necked Lizard; the frill of the Paralympic mascot was coloured in green and gold and represented the country via the shape. The ochre colour of Lizzie’s body aimed to mirror the colour of the land; the frill neck lizard is a native Australian animal. The lizard was chosen because of its will to survive along with its tenacity, it carries the Paralympic message of power and pride to both Australians and international audiences; the strength and attitude of Lizzie symbolise the character traits of all Paralympic Athletes. Lizzie has been given the voice of Olivia Newton-John, a well-known Australian singer and entertainer.
Olivia made performances with Lizzie leading up to the Games, spreading the word about excellence within the Paralympic Community. The outstanding visibility and community engagement to Lizzie led to marketing success, unrivalled by the three olympic mascots. Lizzie captured the imagination of the public, leading to the iconic representation at the Paralympic games; the Australian Paralympic Committees noted the significant branding capitol and realised that this could be leveraged in the future. List of Olympic mascots List of Paralympic mascots List of Australian sporting mascots Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat, an unofficial mascot of the 2000 Games
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art, characterized by its emphasis on head-height kicks and spinning kicks, fast kicking techniques. Taekwondo is a combative sport and was developed during the 1940s and 1950s by Korean martial artists with experience in martial arts such as karate, Chinese martial arts, indigenous Korean martial arts traditions such as Taekkyeon and Gwonbeop; the oldest governing body for taekwondo is the Korea Taekwondo Association, formed in 1959 through a collaborative effort by representatives from the nine original kwans, or martial arts schools, in Korea. The main international organisational bodies for taekwondo today are the International Taekwon-Do Federation, founded by Choi Hong Hi in 1966, the partnership of the Kukkiwon and World Taekwondo, founded in 1972 and 1973 by the Korea Taekwondo Association. Gyeorugi, a type of full-contact sparring, has been an Olympic event since 2000; the governing body for taekwondo in the Olympics and Paralympics is World Taekwondo.
Beginning in 1945, shortly after the end of World War II, new martial arts schools called kwans opened in Seoul. These schools were established by Korean martial artists with backgrounds in Japanese and Korean martial arts; the umbrella term traditional taekwondo refers to the martial arts practiced by the kwans during the 1940s and 1950s, though in reality the term "taekwondo" had not yet been coined at that time, indeed each Kwan was practicing its own unique style of martial art. During this time taekwondo was adopted for use by the South Korean military, which increased its popularity among civilian martial arts schools. After witnessing a martial arts demonstration by the military in 1952, South Korean President Syngman Rhee urged that the martial arts styles of the kwans be merged. Beginning in 1955 the leaders of the kwans began discussing in earnest the possibility of creating a unified style of Korean martial arts; the name Tae Soo Do was used to describe this unified style. This name consists of the hanja 跆 tae "to stomp, trample", 手 su "hand" and 道 do "way, discipline".
Choi Hong Hi advocated the use of the name Tae Kwon Do, i.e. replacing su "hand" by 拳 kwon "fist", the term used for "martial arts" in Chinese. The new name was slow to catch on among the leaders of the kwans. In 1959 the Korea Taekwondo Association was established to facilitate the unification of Korean martial arts. In 1966, Choi broke with the KTA to establish the International Taekwon-Do Federation - a separate governing body devoted to institutionalizing his own style of taekwondo. Cold War politics of the 1960s and 1970s complicated the adoption of ITF-style taekwondo as a unified style, however; the South Korean government wished to avoid North Korean influence on the martial art. Conversely, ITF president Choi Hong Hi sought support for the martial art from all quarters, including North Korea. In response, in 1973 South Korea withdrew its support for the ITF; the ITF continued to function as an independent federation headquartered in Toronto, Canada. After Choi's retirement, the ITF split in 2001 and again in 2002 to create three separate federations each of which continues to operate today under the same name.
In 1973 the South Korean government's Ministry of Culture and Tourism established the Kukkiwon as the new national academy for taekwondo. Kukkiwon now serves many of the functions served by the KTA, in terms of defining a government-sponsored unified style of taekwondo. In 1973 the KTA and Kukkiwon supported the establishment of the World Taekwondo Federation to promote taekwondo as an international sport. WT competitions employ Kukkiwon-style taekwondo. For this reason, Kukkiwon-style taekwondo is referred to as WT-style taekwondo, sport-style taekwondo, or Olympic-style taekwondo, though in reality the style is defined by the Kukkiwon, not the WTF. Since 2000, taekwondo has been one of only two Asian martial arts that are included in the Olympic Games, it started as a demonstration event at the 1988 games in Seoul, a year after becoming a medal event at the Pan Am Games, became an official medal event at the 2000 games in Sydney. In 2010, taekwondo was accepted as a Commonwealth Games sport.
Taekwondo is characterized by its emphasis on head-height kicks and spinning kicks, fast kicking techniques. In fact, World Taekwondo sparring competitions award additional points for strikes that incorporate spinning kicks, kicks to the head, or both. To facilitate fast, turning kicks, taekwondo adopts stances that are narrower and taller than the broader, wide stances used by martial arts such as karate; the tradeoff of decreased stability is believed to be worth the commensurate increase in agility in Kukkiwon-style taekwondo. The emphasis on speed and agility is a defining characteristic of taekwondo and has its origins in analyses undertaken by Choi Hong Hi; the results of that analysis are known by ITF practitioners as Choi's Theory of Power. Choi based his understanding of power on biomechanics and Newtonian physics as well as Chinese martial arts. For example, Choi observed that the power of a strike increases quadratically with the speed of the strike, but increases only linearly with the mass of the striking object.
In other words, speed is more important than size in terms of generating power. This principle w
East Timor
East Timor or Timor-Leste the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Maritime Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island surrounded by Indonesian West Timor. Australia is the country's southern neighbour, separated by the Timor Sea; the country's size is about 15,410 km2. East Timor was colonised by Portugal in the 16th century, was known as Portuguese Timor until 28 November 1975, when the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor declared the territory's independence. Nine days it was invaded and occupied by the Indonesian military, was declared as the country's 27th province the following year; the Indonesian occupation of East Timor was characterised by a violent, decades-long conflict between separatist groups and the Indonesian military. In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory.
East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on 20 May 2002 and joined the United Nations and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. In 2011, East Timor announced its intention to become the eleventh member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. East Timor is part of the Timor Leste -- Indonesia -- Australia Growth Triangle, it is one of only two predominantly Christian nations in Southeast Asia, the other being the Philippines, as well as the only Asian country to be located in the Southern Hemisphere. "Timor" derives from timur, the word for "east" in Indonesian language, which became recorded as Timor in Portuguese, thus resulting in the tautological toponym meaning "East East": In Portuguese Timor-Leste. In Indonesian, the country is called Timor Timur, thus using the Portuguese name for the island followed by the word for "east", as adjectives in Indonesian are put after the noun; the official names under the Constitution are Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste in English, República Democrática de Timor-Leste in Portuguese and Repúblika Demokrátika Timór-Leste in Tetum.
The International Organization for Standardization official short form in English and all other languages is Timor-Leste, adopted by the United Nations, the European Union, the national standards organisations of France, the United States, United Kingdom and Sweden, all diplomatic missions to the country by protocol and the CIA World Factbook. Humans first settled in East Timor 42,000 years ago. Descendants of at least three waves of migration are believed still to live in East Timor; the first is described by anthropologists as people of the Veddo-Australoid type. Around 3000 BC, a second migration brought Melanesians; the earlier Veddo-Australoid peoples withdrew at this time to the mountainous interior. Proto-Malays arrived from south China and north Indochina. Hakka traders are among those descended from this final group. Timorese origin myths tell of ancestors that sailed around the eastern end of Timor arriving on land in the south; some stories recount Timorese ancestors journeying from the Malay Peninsula or the Minangkabau highlands of Sumatra.
Austronesians migrated to Timor, are thought to be associated with the development of agriculture on the island. Before European colonialism, Timor was included in Chinese and Indian trading networks, in the 14th century was an exporter of aromatic sandalwood, slaves and wax. Since the 1500's, the Timorese people had military ties with the Luções of present-day northern Philippines, it was the relative abundance of sandalwood in Timor that attracted European explorers to the island in the early 16th century. During that time, European explorers reported that the island had a number of small chiefdoms or princedoms; the Portuguese established outposts in Maluku. Effective European occupation of a small part of the territory began in 1769, when the city of Dili was founded and the colony of Portuguese Timor declared. A definitive border between the Dutch-colonised western half of the island and the Portuguese-colonised eastern half of the island was established by the Permanent Court of Arbitration of 1914, it remains the international boundary between the successor states East Timor and Indonesia.
For the Portuguese, East Timor remained little more than a neglected trading post until the late nineteenth century, with minimal investment in infrastructure and education. Sandalwood remained the main export crop with coffee exports becoming significant in the mid-nineteenth century; as was the case, Portuguese rule was neglectful but exploitative where it existed. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a faltering home economy prompted the Portuguese to extract greater wealth from its colonies, met with East Timorese resistance. During World War II, first the Allies and the Japanese occupied Dili, the mountainous interior became the scene of a guerrilla campaign, known as the Battle of Timor. Waged by East Timorese volunteers and Allied forces against the Japanese, the struggle resulted in the deaths of between 40,000 and 70,000 East Timorese; the Japanese drove the last of the Australian and Allied forces out. However, following the end of World War II and Japanese surrender, Portuguese control was reinstated.
Following the 1974 Portuguese revolution, Portugal abandone
Mozambique
Mozambique the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, Eswatini and South Africa to the southwest. The sovereign state is separated from the Comoros and Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east; the capital of Mozambique is Maputo. Between the first and fifth centuries AD, Bantu-speaking peoples migrated to present-day Mozambique from farther north and west. Northern Mozambique lies within the monsoon trade winds of the Indian Ocean. Between the 7th and 11th centuries, a series of Swahili port towns developed here, which contributed to the development of a distinct Swahili culture and language. In the late medieval period, these towns were frequented by traders from Somalia, Egypt, Arabia and India; the voyage of Vasco da Gama in 1498 marked the arrival of the Portuguese, who began a gradual process of colonisation and settlement in 1505. After over four centuries of Portuguese rule, Mozambique gained independence in 1975, becoming the People's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter.
After only two years of independence, the country descended into an intense and protracted civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992. In 1994, Mozambique held its first multiparty elections, has since remained a stable presidential republic, although it still faces a low-intensity insurgency. Mozambique is endowed with extensive natural resources; the country's economy is based on agriculture, but industry is growing food and beverages, chemical manufacturing and aluminium and petroleum production. The tourism sector is expanding. South Africa is Mozambique's main trading partner and source of foreign direct investment, while Belgium, Brazil and Spain are among the country's most important economic partners. Since 2001, Mozambique's annual average GDP growth has been among the world's highest. However, the country is still one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world, ranking low in GDP per capita, human development, measures of inequality and average life expectancy; the only official language of Mozambique is Portuguese, spoken as a second language by about half the population.
Common native languages include Makhuwa and Swahili. The country's population of around 29 million is composed overwhelmingly of Bantu people; the largest religion in Mozambique is Christianity, with significant minorities following Islam and African traditional religions. Mozambique is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Southern African Development Community, is an observer at La Francophonie; the country was named Moçambique by the Portuguese after the Island of Mozambique, derived from Mussa Bin Bique or Musa Al Big or Mossa Al Bique or Mussa Ben Mbiki or Mussa Ibn Malik, an Arab trader who first visited the island and lived there. The island-town was the capital of the Portuguese colony until 1898, when it was moved south to Lourenço Marques. Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, waves of Bantu-speaking people migrated from the west and north through the Zambezi River valley and gradually into the plateau and coastal areas.
They established agricultural societies based on herding cattle. They brought with them the technology for smithing iron. From the late first millennium AD, vast Indian Ocean trade networks extended as far south into Mozambique as evidenced by the ancient port town of Chibuene. Beginning in the 9th century, a growing involvement in Indian Ocean trade led to the development of numerous port towns along the entire East African coast, including modern day Mozambique. Autonomous, these towns broadly participated in the incipient Swahili culture. Islam was adopted by urban elites, facilitating trade. In Mozambique, Sofala and Mozambique Island were regional powers by the 15th century; the towns traded with merchants from both the broader Indian Ocean world. Important were the gold and ivory caravan routes. Inland states like the Kingdom of Zimbabwe and Kingdom of Mutapa provided the coveted gold and ivory, which were exchanged up the coast to larger port cities like Kilwa and Mombasa. From about 1500, Portuguese trading posts and forts displaced the Arabic commercial and military hegemony, becoming regular ports of call on the new European sea route to the east.
The voyage of Vasco da Gama around the Cape of Good Hope in 1498 marked the Portuguese entry into trade and society of the region. The Portuguese gained control of the Island of Mozambique and the port city of Sofala in the early 16th century, by the 1530s, small groups of Portuguese traders and prospectors seeking gold penetrated the interior regions, where they set up garrisons and trading posts at Sena and Tete on the River Zambezi and tried to gain exclusive control over the gold trade. In the central part of the Mozambique territory, the Portuguese attempted to legitimise and consolidate their trade and settlement positions through the creation of prazos tied to their settlement and administration. While prazos were developed to be held by Portuguese, through intermarriage they became African Portuguese or African Indian centres defended by large African sl
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